Insurance Commissioner and
Secretary of Department of Health Deny Rule Making Petitions
In September of this year the WSCA filed 8 rule-making petitions
with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC), and we
cross-filed three of them with the Department of Health (DOH).
Both state agencies had 60 days to respond to our petitions
and either accept, modify or deny.
In early November we received responses from both state agencies.
The OIC denied seven of the eight petitions stating they did
not have authority to promulgate the proposed rules we requested.
They agreed to move forward on our petition filed as #101,
regarding locum tenens coverage, and we expect a hearing scheduled
some time in the first quarter of 2006.
WSCA also received a response from the Department of Health
denying the three petitions that we cross filed, #202, #207
and #208, all related to competition in the market.
The WSCA Board of Directors has met and reviewed the responses
from the two agencies and is now preparing bills for the 2006
legislative session.
Insurance companies are so big that when you are not allowed
into a provider panel, for no other reason than they don’t
want to add you, the provider is not able to compete in the
market. When you are not allowed appropriate office coverage
your patients lose their ability to have appropriate continuity
of care. And, when you are not allowed due process when you
disagree with an insurer you are penalized and treated unfairly.
The WSCA Board of Directors has made these issues a high
priority for chiropractors in Washington State, and we will
continue to work through all of the options available to us
for the appropriate remedy.
The response documents sent between the WSCA and the two
state agencies. Updates will be posted to our website at www.chirohealth.org
as they occur.
Thank you for your continued support of
the WSCA.
The following
documents make up the formal rule-making filing with the Washington
State Insurance Commissioner, and the Washington State Department
of Health. The PDF documents are the forms filed with brief
descriptions of each proposed rule, with some rationale. The
WORD documents are the actual rule that is currently in place;
our proposed language is identified with underlined
text in the document. The letters to the Insurance
Commissioner and the Secretary of the Department of Health,
and the exhibits, provide supporting materials for additional
rationale.
Contact Information:
Lori Bielinski, Executive Director
Washington State Chiropractic Association
21400 Int'l Blvd. Ste. 207
SeaTac, Washington 98198
Ph: (206) 878-6055 | Fax: (206) 878-8699
Email: wsca@chirohealth.org
www.chirohealth.org
|
206-878-6055
